1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to wheel carriage or truck assemblies and, more precisely, to a wheel carriage assembly for skateboards and the like which provides improved responsiveness during change of direction and improved shock absorption.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Typically, prior art trucks provide good rigidity and some rotational movement of the attached wheels in the horizontal direction, although rotation is limited because of the rigidity. Thus, e.g., when a skateboard rider (not shown in the drawings) leans into a turn, the wheels turn slightly in the horizontal direction. Consequently such trucks provide relative stability at the expense of responsiveness and smooth ride.
The shock absorption action provided by components such as the strut unit 16 in FIG. 2 is more effective in the vertical direction than the horizontal. At the least, the upright positioning of the strut unit 16 limits its effectiveness in ameliorating the effect of obstructions such as curbs and pavement dividers. This limited effectiveness is particularly unfortunate in view of the relatively small size of the wheels and their resulting susceptibility to obstructions such as curbs.
As will be thus appreciated, it is desirable to have a wheel carriage or truck assembly which provides improved responsiveness and also effective shock absorption in the direction of travel.